E 302 
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Copy 1 



November, 1921 



Number 189 



University OF North Carolina 

Record 




THE STORY OF TWO PORTRAITS 

BY 

REV. WILLIAM WAY 

THE UNIVERSITY'S PHYSICAL 
RE-MAKING 

BY 

President H. W. CHASE 



PUBLISHED BY TIIE UNIVERSITT 

Issued monthly from November to August 

Entered as Second-class Matter at the Postoffice at 

OHAPEL HILL, N. 0. 



University of North Carolina 

Record 




THE STORY OF TWO PORTRAITS 

BT 

REV. WILLIAM WAY 



THE UNIVERSITY'S PHYSICAL 
RE -MAKING 

BY 

President H. W. CHASE 



PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY 

Issued monthly from November to August 

Entered as Second-class Matter at the Postofflce at 

CHAPEL HILL, N. C. 



1^2 1 



E12.02, 



T 

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1^ 



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Gen. William Richardson Davie 



The Story of Two Portraits 

Half a generation ago, while the guest of Mr. John Alwyn 
Ball of Charleston, South Carolina, I was shown a numher of 
rare portraits. Among them was a life-size profile of General 
William Richardson Davie. I said to my host: "The University 
of North Carolina would prize that portrait as a precious and 
priceless legacy." Mr. Ball replied : "Sometime in the future, 
I want you to present that picture to the University of North 
Carolina, as a gift from my wife." 

On the seventh of January, 1920, Mrs. Ball, one of the most 
saintly women it has heen my good fortune to know, passed 
to her well-earned rest. A few weeks later, Mr. Ball presented 
to the Gibbes Art Gallery of Charleston, S. C, a number of 
valuable portraits, and at the same time requested me to com- 
municate with the President of this University, offering the 
portrait of General Davie, which I did with great personal 
satisfaction, as it had been my most earnest desire that this 
portrait should ultimately become the property of this insti- 
tution of learning. 

The portrait was made in Paris during the summer of 1800. 
General Davie died the eighth of November, 1820, As historians 
and even Court records do not agree on the date of the death 
of General Davie, I will state the authority for "November 8, 
1820." The Southern Patriot and Commercial Advertiser, 
Charleston, S. C, November 18, 1820, one of the most trust- 
worthy newspapers published in America at the time, printed 
the following news item: "A letter received in this city from. 
Camden, states that the worthy and respectable Revolutionary 
soldier, General Davie, departed this life on the evening of the 
8th instant." The Charleston Courier, also a periodical of relia- 
bility, two days later, November 20, 1£20, quotes the above 
statement verbatim,. 

In his will dated September 17, 1S19 and filed for probate in 
Chester County, South Carolina, he devised to his youngest son, 
Frederick William Davie, Landsford Plantation on the Catawba 
River in Chester County, S. C, and the family home thereon. 

An address delivered at the University of North Carolina on University Day, 
October 12th, 1920, by Rev. William Way, Rector of Grace Church, Charleston, 
S. C. and author of "The History of the New England Society of Charleston for 
One Hundred Years." 



4 The Story of Two Portraits 

known as "Trivoli," and the contents of the home. Among the 
pei-sonal effects in the home was the portrait this University 
receives today. There is one paragraph in General Davie's will 
which particularly shows intense devotion to his youngest son, 
to wit: "I give my arms and military accoutrements to my son, 
Frederick William, and in case of his death without a son, then 
to Allen Jones Davie. Let them never forget that these arms 
were honorably employed in establishing the liberties of their 
country, and I request that they may be preserved in the family 
forever." A copy of General Davie's will, a most interesting 
document written by himself, was recently presented to the Libra- 
ry of this University by President Chase. 

During the Civil War period, 1860-1865, the portrait, with 
the family silver and jewelry, was buried near Landsford. This 
precaution was taken against confiscation. At the close of the 
Civil War, the interred heirlooms were exhumed. The portrait 
was in perfect condition. 

Frederick William Davie continued to reside at Landsford 
until his death, April 9, 1850. (He died without issue.) His 
wife, Mary Frederica Fraser Davie, inherited his personal estate. 
Landsford Plantation, in accordance with the legal interpretation 
of General Davie's will, passed into the hands of a male heir, 
William Richardson Davie, grandson of the General. (Richard- 
son's Law Reports, Vol. 9, page 534.) 

The widow of Frederick William Davie changed her residence 
from Landsford to Charleston, S. C, in 1866 or 1867 where 
she lived until her death in 1887. She left her estate to Emilie 
G. F. Ball, Isabelle S. Ball and Frederick G. Fraser. In the 
division of this estate, the portrait of General Davie became the 
property of Emilie G. F. Ball, and at her death, January 7, 1920, 
the property of her husband, J. AlAvyn Ball. Thus we have a 
complete and accurate history of the portrait of General Davie, 
for one hundred and twenty years. 

Who Made the Portrait? 

For more than a generation, there has been a tradition in 
the Fraser-Ball family that the portrait of General Davie was the 
work of a French artist, M. Fauret de Saint-Memin. 

Saint-Memin was born in Paris, 1770, He was a member 
of a family of rank and fortune, an ofiicer of the French Guards 
attached to the Court of Louis XVI, an accomplished amateur 
artist with an aptitude for mechanics. The Revolution of 1790 



University of N'orth Carolina 5 

sent him an exile to Switzerland and from there by way of 
Canada to America in 1796, 

Saint-Memin, having been deprived of position and fortune, 
became an artist and engraver. He began his artistic career in 
America by making views of N^ew York, beautifully tinted. Sub- 
sequently he made life-size crayon portraits in profile on pink 
paper, with the assistance of an invention called the "Physio- 
notrace." He then used the pantograph to reduce the large profiles 
to the size required for the small copper plate, the portrait 
being drawn in a perfect circle about two inches in diameter. 

Saint-Memin made portraits and engravings in many of the 
principal cities of the United States, including New York, Phila- 
delphia, Burlington, Baltimore, Washington, Georgetown, Alex- 
andria, Richmond, Norfolk, and Charleston, South Carolina. 

In 1814, on the downfall of Napoleon, he returned to France. 
In 1£'17, Louis XVIII appointed him Curator of the Museum 
at Dijon, which position he filled with conspicious ability until 
his death in 1852. 

During his sojourn in America, Saint-Memin did prolific work. 
He made portraits of the most prominent people in America at 
that time. Among the number were four Presidents — Washing- 
ton, Jefferson, W. H. Harrison, and James Madison. Among 
others of distinction were Josiah Quincy, Paul Revere, Chief 
Justice Marshall, Benjamin Rush, Wade Hampton, Nathaniel 
Russell, founder of the New England Society of Charleston, Gen- 
eral John Minor and Stephen Decatur. Eight hundred and 
fifty originals by Saint-Memin are now accounted for in America. 

The most authentic information concerning Saint-Memin is 
to be found in an address by M. Ph. Guignard, "City Libra- 
rian," delivered at a meeting of the Academy of Dijon, March 16, 
1853, about one year after the death of the artist. Copies of 
this address are very rare in America. 

I know of three copies, two of which I have seen. They are 
owned by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C, the 
New York Public Library, and by Dr. Charles L. Minor of 
Asheville, N. C. Translation by Elias Dexter. Other valuable 
information concerning Saint-Memin may be found in a brochure 
by Mr. J. H. Morgan, of New York, and a monumental work 
by Dr. William J. Campbell, of Philadelphia. 

After a careful study of the evidence supporting "the Saint- 
Memin tradition," I was forced to the conclusion that he did 



6 The Story of Two Poetkaits 

not make the portrait of General Davie. Two observations led 
to this decision : 

(1) The portraits of Americans made by Saint-Memin were 
made in America. 

(2) There is a record of 850 originals by Saint-Memin care- 
fully catalogued by Dr. William J. Campbell, which Dr. Camp- 
bell says probably includes all of the portraits made by Saint- 
Memin now extant. A catalogue of the names of the persons whose 
portraits were made by Saint-Memin has also been made. The 
name of General Davie does not appear in this catalogue. It 
may be reasonably assumed that if General Davie had had a 
portrait made of himself by Saint-Memin, a record of it would 
have been made and kept, especially when we consider the national 
prominence of General Davie, at the time Saint-Memin was 
making pictures in America. 

The above conclusions I submitted to the owner of the portrait, 
who agreed with me that the only way to determine the iden- 
tity of the artist was to consult experts in art, and to seek 
access to more accurate records than a mere family tradition. 
Whereupon, I took the portrait to Washington, D. C., where it 
was carefully scrutinized by a number of experienced art critics, 
who placed it by the side of a number of portraits made by 
Saint-Memin, in the Corcoran Gallery of Art, for comparison 
and study. The unanimous opinion reached was that it was 
not the work of Saint-Memin. The portrait was then placed 
by the side of a portrait made by another French artist for 
comparison. 

The Wokk of Gilles Louis Chretien 

A decision was then made that the portrait of General Davie 
was the work of Gilles Louis Chretien. As there were a nuniber 
of artists in France at that time named Chretien, it is therefore 
well to keep in mind the Christian name of our artist. 

"Gilles Louis Chretien, a French musician, was born at Ver- 
sailles in 1754. In 1787, he invented a machine called the 'Physio- 
notrace,' with which he took portraits in profile from life, which 
were reduced to silhouettes, usually by Fouquet, and then en- 
graved in aquatint by himself. Many of these are of great 
interest on account of the celebrity of the persons represented, 
'L'lncorruptible Robespierre,' Mirabeau, and Marat, being among 
the hundreds which he produced. Edme Quenedey was at first 
associated with him, but Chretien afterwards worked alone. He 



Univebsitt of I^okth Caeolina 7 

died in Paris in 1811." [From Bryan's "Dictionary of Painters 
and Engravers" (1903) page 292.] 

There is one historic fact stated in Bryan's sketch of Chretien 
I want to stress in particular, namely : That the "Physionotrace" 
was the invention of Gilles Louis Chretien, This fact is also 
stated by Thomas in his "French Portrait Engraving of the 
XVII and XVIII Centuries" (1910), page 171, and by Guignard 
in his sketch of Saint-Memin (1853) who said: "This style in- 
vented by Chretien had been very popular in Paris but was almost 
unknown in America. M. de Saint-Memin was the first who 
practiced it there," 

In an interesting article on Saint-Memin in The American 
Magazine of Art, October, 1920, by Miss Anna Seaton Schmidt, 
we find the following reference to Chretien. Miss Schmidt says, 
in speaking of Saint-Memin's arrival in this country: "A new 
method of portraiture had recently come into vogue in France; 
Chretien had invented the 'Physionotrace' by means of which in- 
strument he could accurately trace a life size portrait." This 
evidence is called to the fore for the important reason that the 
invention of the "Physionotrace" and its first use has been errone- 
ously attributed to Saint-Memin, who was in all probability, the 
pupil of Chretien in France. We are certain that Saint-Memin 
used Chretien's "Physionotrace" and his method of making por- 
traits. What Chretien did in France, Saint-Memin did in Amer- 
ica. The priority of Chretien is a historic fact. There are to be 
found in the portraits made by the two artists, striking similari- 
ties. As a general rule, both made their portraits on pink paper. 
Both made their portraits oval in shape. Both made their por- 
traits in profile. Both finished their portraits in similar fashion. 
In a word, the portraits made by the two artists are so much 
alike that the laity would scarcely differentiate. There are, how- 
ever, two points of dissimilarity. The frames designed by the 
respective artists are different. Chretien's original frame was 
like his portraits, oval in shape, while Saint-Memin did not imi- 
tate his teacher in this regard, but designed a frame oval in ef- 
fect with chopped off corners. The second point of dissimilarity 
is observed in the finish of the portraits by the two artists. Chretien 
used the crayon more than Saint-Memin did. As an art critic 
recently said: "Chretien's finishing exhibits a fine artistic touch 
of the crayon, not seen in the finish of Saint-Memin." 

The work of Chretien in France, and the work of Saint-Memin 
in America, was the response to popular demand. The French 
school of portrait engraving was at its zenith at the time of the 



8 The Stoey of Two Portraits 

Revolution in 1790, This school was the most important in all 
Europe. All portrait engraving at that time was under its in- 
fluence and the greatest portrait engravers of the world flocked 
to France to study and to practice their craft. The French school 
had created a style and an inspiration which the artists of all 
lands were eager to emulate and to reproduce. Chretien and 
Saint-Memin were products of this school. The Medallion and 
Miniature schools followed. 

"When the Portrait of General Davie "Was Made 

General Davie resigned the governorship of North Carolina in 

1799 to accept an appointment by President John Adams on a 
commission to France. The other members of the commission 
were Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth and "William Y. Murray, 
then Minister from the United States to The Hague. The year 

1800 found the commission in Paris. It was at this time that 
Chretien made the portrait of General Davie. Two lines of evi- 
dence make this date reasonably certain: 

(1) A letter (July 27, 1920) from "William Richardson Davie 
of Austin, Texas, great grandson of General Davie, gives assur- 
ance of this fact. 

(2) The portrait is in the original frame designed by Chretien 
himself, and the label in French on the back of the portrait in- 
dicates that the frame was made in Paris at the time the picture 
was made. The following is a literal translation of the label : 

chaise 

"Painter, decorator, and merchant of engravings, 
Street Neuve Des Petits Champs No. 490, opposite the 
Minister of Finance at Paris. This store of engravings, 
frames, portfolios, and water colors, drawings and pic- 
tures, decorating the borders any desirable size and in 
any style. One can find at his store pencils, brushes, 
canvasses, and glasses for miniatures, in general, every- 
thing which concerns drawing. He also sells on com- 



mission." 



Autistic Value of the Portrait 



The artistic work of Chretien is being more and more appre- 
ciated in France. In art, as in statesmanship, time is the jury 
that renders the verdict. Each year adds value to a picture. 
As a general proposition, a book decreases in value while a pic- 
ture increases in value. The carefully selected library of the late 



Univeesity of North Carolina 9 

"William D. Howells consisting of three thousand volumes sold for 
$300. Chretien's portraits were not appreciated during his own 
life time. This is also true of Saint-Memin's art in America. 
His name was unknown in this country for fifty years after his 
final departure for France. His portraits had no artistic value or 
recognition. While he worked, he received little compensation 
for his efforts. His life-size portraits sold for thirty-three dollars. 
Dunlap, the earliest authority on American art, did not so much as 
mention his name in his monumental hook. Today, Chretien's 
work is highly valued in France, just as Saint-Memin's work is 
receiving great recognition in America. The last decade has given 
decided impetus to the recognition of hoth Chretien and Saint- 
Memin as artists of interest and merit. It is safe to predict that 
in the future, the artistic work of Chretien, the inventor and 
teacher, and of Saint-Memin, the pupil, will shine more and more 
in the Kingdom of Art. 

Historic Value of the Portrait 

From an artistic standpoint, the portrait of General Davie has 
intrinsic value. This, however, is not its greater value. Its 
greater value is historic, especially to this University. It is not 
too much to say, that of its kind, it is one of the rarest pictures 
in America. 

Mr. A. J. Parsons, late Chief of the Division of Prints in the 
Library of Congress, an authority on such matters, said not long 
before his death that "there were only two portraits by Gilles Louis 
Chretien in America." Mr. D. E. Boberts, at present in charge of 
the Division of Prints in the Library of Congress in a letter (Au- 
gust 10, 1920) stated that he did not know of an art collection 
in America containing a portrait by Chretien. 

Not many years ago, Saint-Memin's collection of noted Ameri- 
cans was offered to the Library of Congi-ess for a comparatively 
small sum. The offer was refused and the collection was pur- 
chased by Mr. W. W. Corcoran, and is now one of the most valued 
acquisitions in the Gallery of Art bearing his name. Not long 
afterwards, the authorities in charge of the Library of Congress 
made an effort to purchase a portrait by Chretien, and were un- 
successful. This incident illustrates the relative value of the 
work of the respective artists. 

The historic value of this portrait to the University of North 
Carolina is inestimable. To have in its possession, a life-size 
portrait taken from life by probably the greatest protrait engraver 
of his time, made one hundred and twenty years ago, just eleven 



10 The Story of Two Portraits 

years after General Davie founded this University, made at the 
time the General was at the very zenith of his illustrious career 
and in connection with his diplomatic services in France, is a 
possession indeed worth while. And then too may I add that this 
is the only life-size portrait of General Davie, made from life, in 
existence. 

This fact is most significant. When an artist paints a portrait, 
he is generally dominated by one or two ideals, viz. : The ideal 
of self expression, "Art for Art's sake," or he strives to express 
the ideal of the ideal. You may have a portrait painted by Sir 
Joshua Reynolds or by Gilbert Stuart which is a perfect expres- 
sion of art and at the same time, an imperfect presentation of the 
subject. Such is not the case with Chretien's art. With the 
"Physionotrace," he took pictures from life with mathematical 
accuracy. Then he used the crayon. His ideal was the perfect 
presentation of the subject, which could only be attained by the 
use of a mechanical instrument, such as he invented. In a word, 
you have in this portrait of General Davie the founder of your 
University as he really and actually was. You have General Davie 
in the flesh. 

Mr. James B. Heyward of Cartersville, Ga., whose wife was 
Sallie Bedon, grand daughter of General Davie, stated in a 
letter (September 26, 1920) that he lived in Chester County, 
S. C, 1873-1875, and that he was intimate in the Davie home 
and that he was of the opinion that there was a family portrait 
of General Davie. "The ground for the opinion," he says, "that 
there was portrait, is that I have seen several profile likenesses on 
paper, which must have been copies of some kind. My wife had 
one herself, but it was burned when our residence in this town 
was destroyed by fire in 1907." 

You observe, Mr. Heyward says that the "copies" were "profile 
likenesses." These "profile likenesses" were made from Chre- 
tien's original portrait of General Davie, which was the "family 
portrait." 

There are three small pictures of General Davie which are 
of great interest and value. Mr. William Richardson Davie, 
of Austin, Texas, has had in his possession for many years a 
copper plate print about two inches in diameter. On the back 
of this print is written the same inscription in French as is 
written on the back of the life-size portrait of General Davie, 
namely, "Chaise, Painter, decorator," etc. This print was recent- 
ly scrutinized by Miss Leila Mechlin, of Washington, D. C, 
one of the leading art critics of this country. Miss Mechlin at 



University of North Carolina 11 

once pronounced the "copper print" the work of Gilles Louis Chre- 
tien and also stated that it supplied the missing link in the chain 
of evidence identifying him as the author of the portrait Mr. Ball 
presents to the University today. The small print was reduced 
from the life size portrait to a copper plate. The portrait and 
the copper print were made by the same artist in Paris in the 
year 1800. 

Mr. "William Kichardson Davie Crockett of Chapel Hill, Texas, 
whose great grandmother was General Davie's eldest daughter, 
owns two pictures of the General. The following description of 
the pictures is a quotation from a letter written by Mrs. W. R. D. 
Crockett, October 25, 1920 : "We have a very beautiful miniature 
of General W. R. Davie painted in 1800 by Eliza M. It is a 
three-quarter view, full dress military uniform with gold epau- 
lettes, is three inches wide, octagon shape. 'Eliza M.' and 
'1800' are painted on the miniature. Family tradition says 
that it was painted in Paris, but we have no other proof aside 
from the date. The other is a profile in pastel apparently taken 
about the same time. We also have a steel engraving by J. B. 
Longacre from a drawing by Vanderlyn taken in 1800. The 
costume seems to be the same as in the pastel, the face being a 
three-quarter view." 

There are a number of oil paintings of General Davie in vari- 
ous parts of the country: in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, 
by Albert Rosenthal; in the Senate Chamber at Raleigh, N. C, 
by Jacques Busbee ; in the Library of Princeton University, Prince- 
ton, N. J., by H. T. Carpenter, presented to Colonel Preston Davie ; 
and in Dialectic Hall at the University of I^orth Carolina. 

The Other Known Portrait in America Made by Chretien 

It is of interest to this University and to the people of "The 
Old North State" to know that the other known portrait by 
Chretien in America is of a North Carolinian, John Gilbert 
Clark. This portrait is the proud possession of Miss Leila 
Mechlin, Secretary of The Federation of Arts in America and 
Editor of The American Magazine of Art, the great grand- 
daughter of Mr. Clark. There is a strong evidence that the 
portrait of Mr. Clark was made the same year (1800) in Paris 
that the portrait of General Davie was made. I am indebted 
to Miss Clark for the following sketch of her great grandfather: 

"John Gilbert Clark was born in Edenton, North Carolina, about the 
year 1770. His father was a sea captain and was drowned almost in 



12 The Story of Two Portraits 

sight of their home when John Gilbert was a small child. When 
he was only eight years old, he was stolen by some sailors and taken 
to sea on the Ranger which was the first vessel that flew our flag, then 
the stripes without the stars. 

"They made him act as powder monkey and afterwards put him on 
board a prize to be sent home, but she was recaptured by the E'nglish 
and the crew made prisoners and taken to England, where the boy 
with his fair skin and light curls, filled the women with astonishment, 
and made them exclaim 'why he's just like one of us,' thinking the 
Americans were Indians. He was well taken care of, but when he 
returned some years later to Edenton, it was rather a forlorn ragged 
boy that appeared at his mother's door, and with little resemblance to 
the little fellow who had been long mourned as dead. He evidently 
inherited his father's love of the sea and must have become captain of 
a vessel when quite young, for he had made several voyages to the 
Guinea Coast of Africa before the Frederick, of which he was more 
than half owner as well as captain, was captured by a French privateev 
in 1799. She was taken into a Spanish port and sold, and her cap- 
tain went there with her but must have been set at liberty, as he then 
began his labors for the claim on the French government, as the 
treaty of peace had been signed before that time. Before leaving 
Spain, he obtained certified copies of all bills of sale and also kept his 
log book and ship papers. All these he took to Paris, and through the 
courtesy of LaFayette got the claim allowed and registered, but failed 
to get payment as there were many other claims and they all had to 
go through the process of law as France was then a republic. He 
then went to Antwerp and had sworn statements made of the value of 
the cargo, which was ivory and gum arable, the Frederick having been 
bound for that port. These he took back to Paris and had attached 
to his other papers, also keeping certified copies. On his return to the 
United States, he opened cotton mills at New Rochelle, New York, and 
was doing a fine business when the War of 1812 broke out. He would 
always keep the Stars and Stripes flying, notwithstanding the British 
ships in Long Island Sound, and one day it was noticed and fired upon, 
and the mills were totally destroyed. 

"After that, it seems that he spent most of his energies trying to 
get payment for the Frederick from Congress as in the meantime 
France, through Napoleon, had ceded to us Louisiana, with the condi- 
tion that the United States become responsible for all French spoliation 
claims due her citizens. He made many visits to Washington, and at 
last, seeing that he could do nothing himself, he put the case into 
Daniel Webster's hands, who filed the papers in such a way that not a 
link in the chain was wanting, and he made every effort he could to 
have the claims paid; but all to no avail, for no one who was living at 



University of North Carolina 13 

that time ever saw a cent of the money. He gave up all hope of it 
himself, but said that he had left no stone unturned, so that perhaps 
his grandchildren might reap the benefit, and so it was. 

"He first married Miss Lawrence, by whom he had four children, 
William, John, Sallie and Julia. They were all grown when he mar- 
ried Mrs. Bruce about 1817 and by her had three children. He died 
in 1825. He always took care of his mother, but she never left Edenton. 
He at one time planned to build an Episcopal Church there when 
his claim was paid. He was large and fine looking and was always 
cordial and courteous. He was a brilliant mathematician and was 
remarkably well read." 

Dr. Chase, in behalf of Mr. John Alwyu Ball of Charleston, 
S. C, I have great pleasure in presenting to the University of 
!N^orth Carolina, through you, this portrait of William Richard- 
son Davie, as the portrait indicates, one of "the most splendid 
and knightly figures on the American Continent" of his day, 
"the distinguished partisan leader of the Revolution," Govenior 
of ISTorth Carolina and Minister to France, the founder of 
the University of North Carolina, "a great man in the age of 
great men, a patriot, a soldier, a jurist, a statesman and a 
diplomat v^hose abilities were admitted and whose services were 
acknowledged." 

This portrait is to remain perpetually in the possession of this 
University as a memorial sacred to the memory of the wife of 
the donor, Emilie Gowdard Eraser Ball. 



The University's Physical Re-making 

Anniversaries in the life of an institution like this have a 
double significance, a two-fold purpose. We pause for a moment 
like the traveller vi^ho has reached an eminence from whose 
height he may survey 'both the way by which he has come and 
the path that leads onward before him. Our minds dwell with 
loving recollection on what is past, but they are nevertheless 
insistently fixed on the future which that past has made possible. 
We offer ovxr tribute of reverence and affection to what has been, 
and we dedicate ourselves anew to what is yet to be. 

If this be true of all our anniversaries, it is especially so today, 
when we are met here to celebrate both the beginning of the 
material existence of this University, and the inauguration of a 
definite programme for its physical re-making. The beginning 
of its material existence — for one hundred and twenty-eight years 
ago today, William Richardson Davie, founder and father of this 
University, in his capacity as Grand Master of the Masons, laid 
the corner-stone of the Old East Building, oldest of the structures 
on this campus, the first building erected at any State institu- 
tion in America. The inauguration of its physical re-making — 
for the State of North Carolina has made possible for us a definite 
and systematic building program, a program to continue, I trust 
and believe, until adequate facilities are present here for every wor- 
thy youth of this State who shall knock for admittance at our doors. 
And, as a symbol of the continuity of past and future, of the 
University of yesterday and that of tomorrow, it is altogether 
fitting and proper that the masonic rites that dedicated to its 
high purpose the first building that was ours, should today con- 
secrate to the use of the youth of ITorth Carolina the first struc- 
ture which the people of the State a few months ago made pos- 
sible for the service of the greater University which is to come. 

One hundred and twenty-eight years of history! N^ot very 
long, perhaps, as the historian counts his eras, since that bright 
autumn morning when Davie, and Moore, and Haywood, and the 
rest, marched in solemn procession under the forest trees to their 
chosen site. And yet what crowded years of human experience 
lie between, years that were to witness such a change in all the 



An address delivered in Memorial Hall on University Day, October 12, 1921, 
by President H. W. Chase. 



University of North Carolina 15 

world that six centuries, not six generations, might have passed. 
Napoleon's first great military exploit was three years in the 
future. France was in the throes of revolution; a united Ger- 
many was hardly a dream; Russia was carving out a great 
European Empire for herself at the expense of Turkey. Not for 
fifteen years would the world see its first railway. A few men 
here and there had just begun to think that machines might do 
what human hands had always done, but almost the whole history 
of the inventions that have transformed the life of man was 
still to be written. The cotton gin was a year old; printing 
must still be painfully done by hand. The whole fabric of 
modern life as we know it was still to be woven. 

The United States of America was scarcely more than a phrase. 
Only three years had elapsed since the last of the thirteen states 
had ratified the Federal Constitution; the whole history of the 
making of this nation had yet to be written. Scarcely more 
were we than a fringe of people along the Atlantic seaboard; 
a people still suffering from the shock of war, struggling to 
establish and maintain a form of government that was itself a 
novelty and an experiment in human affairs. 

And yet, through all the vast re-making that the whole world 
was to see, the University that those men of vision founded 
here that October day has stood. It has seen empires rise and 
fall ; it has outlived Napoleon and Bismarck and their handi- 
work; it has seen the dawning of the age of steam and its slow 
decline before yet newer and mightier forces. It has seen great 
cities arise where there was only wilderness, seen those thirteen 
states become a nation of a hundred millions, mighty among the 
mighty of the earth. 

Here has the University stood and grown great; one of the 
permanent forces of this State and of this nation; enduring in 
the midst of change, steadfast in dark days and in bright, a 
lasting inspiration for faith and loyalty and love. She has be- 
come one of those durable realities to which men cling amid a 
world of change; generations have lifted up their eyes to her as 
to the everlasting hills. Through her halls in endless procession 
have passed and shall pass thousands upon thousands, her sous; 
each of them here for a few bright years, then gone, to his career. 
But round about them all has dwelt, and shall dwell, her im- 
mortal spirit, constant as men come and go, undying as the gen- 
erations pass. In their ears has sounded, and shall sound, her 
unchanging challenge to the best that is in men's minds and 
souls, her summons to the God that is in man. 



16 The University's Physical Re-makino 

To the honor of the part that she has played, I summon no 
witness; I ask you but to look upon the tablets of this hall. Of 
those whose careers have been knit with her in love and service 
I would say but this: an institution takes form and color from 
the lives of those that serve it; the pattern of its achievement 
is of their weaving. Judge, if you will, in terms of what this 
University has been and is, whether they, her servants since that 
October day, have not done well their task. 

But once in all these years has the fire upon these altars flick- 
ered and burned low. For a few brief but tragic years these 
halls were empty, this campus a deserted waste. But the Uni- 
versity was not dead; its vital spirit dwelt secure within the 
hearts of those, its second founders — that devoted group of men who 
plead for it, fought for it, dreamed of it, prayed for it, until at 
last their fight was won, the broken walls reibuilt, the flame that 
"once inspired the faithful teachers and the taught" once more 
was steadily, brightly aglow. I need not name those men to you. 
The memory of what they did is blessed in this State. And it is 
but fitting that the Alma Mater he has loved should today pay 
tribute to one among that loyal band whose devotion and ser- 
vice to this University have but grown greater with the passing 
years. 

On this, our anniversary day, as we cherish in our hearts these 
clustered memories, we face a future that is bright with promise. 
They of the past have biiilded well. What we shall reap is but 
what they have sown. May we, and those who come after us, 
keep the faith they held; may we be granted something of the 
vision that upheld them. For the new era upon which we now 
enter calls for faith, and vision, and high purpose. It is an era 
which takes its point of departure from a declaration of faith 
on the part of this State of North Carolina; a declaration of 
faith in higher education and in this University. 

I^orth Carolina has taken her stand squarely on the principle 
that a great modern commonwealth can insure its own future 
only when to every youth within its borders there is granted 
ample opportunity to develop himself to the full extent of his 
capacities. What she has done in recognition of this truth is 
today a challenge to the whole South ; leadership in all this sec- 
tion is hers today; will be hers more firmly and fully as the pass- 
ing years bring to fruition the seed that she has sown. Never did 
any State make a sounder investment in its own future, one more 
certain of hundred-fold returns. She has but to cling, as she will 



University of I^orth Carolina 17 

cling, to this high faith in education, and the chapter she will 
write in her own life, and in the life of the whole South, will be 
gi-eat beyond any that has gone before. 

To the faith which the State has shown in this, her University, 
deeds, not words, are the only real response. But I would say 
just this : It is our firm determination that, God helping us, we 
shall be worthy of this trust. It is to us a solemn responsibility, 
an obligation that we shall strive to meet even as the State has 
met its own. The greater University that shall arise here, whose 
corner-stone we lay today, will shelter men in numbers that they 
of the past scarce dreamed of, will count her sons by thousands, 
where hundreds have been before, will number her buildings by 
scores, her teachers by hundreds. All these things are sure. But 
the new University will be great, as the old has been, not because 
of these things. 

It will be great only if it calls to the minds and hearts of men 
only in the same clear tones ; only if it shall always glimpse, be- 
yond the physical and the material, the spiritual reality which is 
beyond and above all. God grant that we may see, as Davie saw, 
and as those who have served this University throughout its glori- 
ous past have seen, that except the Lord build the house, they labor 
in vain who build it; that we may build, as they, that which is 
permanent amid change, immortal amid passing generations, be- 
cause, like them, we build on truth and righteousness and love. 



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